India, US seal nuclear agreement

WASHINGTON: The United States and India have reached an accord on implementing the civilian nuclear agreement, it was announced here. A brief joint statement issued at the end of four days of intense negotiations said the matter would now be referred to the respective governments for "for final review." Details of the accord were not spelt out. "Both the United States and India look forward to the completion of these remaining steps and to the conclusion of this historic Initiative," the joint statement said.

It was not clear if the "remaining steps" referred to any residual issues in the so-called 123 Agreement or to the further steps the two sides have to take beyond that - a referral to the Congress for a final up-and-down vote in the U.S, and for India, signing an additional protocol with the IAEA. "The discussions were constructive and positive, and both Under Secretary Burns and Foreign Secretary Menon are pleased with the substantial progress made on the outstanding issues in the 123 agreement. We will now refer the issue to our governments for final review," the statement said.

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